The loading of the tank of a seeder has become more difficult in recent years due to the increase in size of the container or tank, due to the difficulty of reaching the loading opening of the tank and due to the current use of belly-dump trailers rather than the conventional lift trailer.
Various arrangements have been used to resolve this problem and many seeder tanks now carry a loading mechanism in the form of a conveyor which is mounted on a suitable mounting assembly at the side of the tank. Generally the conveyor duct is mounted at the end of an arm which can swivel side to side without a vertical axis and the duct itself can also swivel about a pin at the end of the arm so that the location of the hopper at the lower end of the duct can be maneuvered to different positions. However these arrangements are generally limited to arcuate movement by virtue of vertical pivot axes so that the hopper is limited in its movement. While this is acceptable for a trailer of the type which dumps at the rear, so that the trailer can be backed up to the hopper, it is not acceptable or raises significant difficulties in the event that it is required to unload the trailer from the center or from a belly-mount discharge opening since the trailer and its tractor are difficult to maneuver, since the seeder itself can not be maneuvered in the field and since the loading conveyor has limited movement.
Other arrangements have been proposed to overcome this problem but they are very expensive including providing conveyors mounted on the trailer itself. These have generally not been satisfactory.